While I aim for a traditional grey look for the Imperial walker, I decided to try out a weathering technique I have never tried before: Salt Weathering.

The idea is the use salt (of the more coarse kind) as a random masking-material to create a weathering effect. I hope to achieve a rusted, worn-down look.

If it works, that is.

Step 1 – Brown Undercoat

I started by spraying the miniature with a coat of Citadel Mournfang Brown.

This should provide a brown, „rust-like“ colour to shine through the grey painting of the AT-ST thanks to the salt weathering.

Step 2 – Preparing the Salt

While the undercoat dried, I collected the materials for the salt weathering:

Rock/coarse-grain salt

A bowl (to catch salt sprinkled over the miniature)

Some water

A well-used, older brush

Step 3 – Applying Salt to the Miniature

Once the miniature was dry, I applied water to areas I wanted to weather. Afterwards, I sprinkled the wet parts with salt, which sticks to the moist areas.

I thought I was quite liberal in the application of salt, possibly overdoing it.

It certainly felt like a lot of salt at this stage. In retrospect, I probably could have added a bit more.

Step 4 – Grey Basecoat

After everything was dry, I sprayed the miniature with the actual basecoat I wanted to have for the final paint job. In this case, I used the basic matt grey from Humbrol, which seems like a good shade for Imperial vehicles.

Step 5 – Removing the Salt

Finally, the magic trick. Removing the salt with a soft brush to reveal parts of the brown under the grey basecoat.

Having never done this before, I was excited to see how this would turn out and was very pleased with the result. I expected to do worse on my first try.

That said, the weathering effect wasn’t nearly as excessive as I feared.

I am may have to be careful to keep the weathering clearly visible as I start to paint the miniature …